Wheel-flange lubricator.



W. T. SMALL & C. BESS.

WHEEL PLANGE LUBRIGATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. so, 1911.

1,086,624. Y PatenteaFeulo, 1914.

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WITN ES W. T. SMALL & C. BBSS. WHEEL FLANGE LUBRIGATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.30, 1911.

I 1,086,624. Patented Feb. 10,1914.

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l Ill uw N'roRs COLUMBIA PLANUORAPH co., WASHINGTON. D. C.

'TED STATES PATENT OFFCE.

WILLIAM T. SMALL ANI) CHARLES BESS, OF DUNSIVIUIR, CALIFORNIA.

WHEEL-FLANGE LUBRICATOR.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that we, VrLLmu T. SMALL and @Hannes Buss, vboth of Dunsmuir, in the county of Siskiyou and State of California, have jointly invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Wheel-Flange liubricators, of which improvement the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple, effective, and readily applicable device for the prevention of the undue and excessive wear of the flanges of railroad wheels and of the rails of the track over which they run, that is experienced in service on railroads having any substantial eX- tent and degrees of curvature, such wear involving the loss of metal in reproducing Istandard sections after the tires have become sufiiciently worn to require that treatment, and loss of revenue and cost of rcpairs due to the turning or removal of the tires between regular shoppings of the engine.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

in the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a diagrammatic side view, in elevation, of a portion of a locomotive engine, illustrating an application of our invention; Fig. 2, a plan view of the wheels and cylinders of the locomotive; Fig. 3, a side view, partly in section, and on an enlarged scale, of one of the oil discharge devices; Fig. 4, a plan or top view of the same; Fig. ta, a horizontal section on the line a a of Fig. 3; Fig. Lib, a partial plan view showing a structural modification of the discharge pipe; and, Fig. 5, a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, and on a further enlarged scale, of one of the control valves.

Our invention is herein exemplified as applied in the lubrication of the lianges of two pairs of wheels of a locomotive engine, supported on six driving wheels, 1, la, 1b, and a leading truck having four wheels, 2, 2a, said driving and truck wheels being mounted in the usual manner in the main frame, 3, which carries the boiler, 1l, and cylinders, 5. The locomotive herein shown is of the oil burning type, the oil being supplied to a suitable burner by an oil feed pipe, 6a, leading from a superheater, 6, located below the irebox, which superheater receives its supply of oil from a tank on the tender, as is familiar to those who op crate locomotives of this type.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 30, 1911.

Patented Feb. 1U, 1914.

semi no. 646,896.

ln the practice of our invention, we provide a main lubricant supply pipe, T, which, in the instance shown, is connected to the superheater, 6, of the oil burning appliance of the boiler, and leads therefrom upwardly and forwardly, being supported on the boiler, et, or running board, 8,0f the locomotive, and located either under or outside of the lagging of the boiler, as may be considered the more desirable and convenient. The forward end of the main lubricant supply pipe, which is controlled by a cut out cock, 7a, is connected to a plurality of lines of branch lubricant supply pipes leading to points convenient for the connection of means for supplying oil to'as many of the wheel flanges as desired, branch pipes, 9, leading to points in advance of the front pair of driving wheels, l, and branch pipes, l0, leading to points in advance of the front pair of truck wheels, 2, being, in this case, shown. The branch lubricant supply pipes are connected to lubricant discharge devices of the following construction: A swivel pocket, 1l, is pivoted by means of a pin or bolt, lla, parallel to the axis of the wheel, to the discharge end (which is open) of each of the branch lubricant supply pipes, Q, l0, so asrto swing freely, in a vertical plane, at right angles to the axis of the wheels 2 and about the aXis of the pivot pin, lla. A discharge pipe, 12, which is bent into U form, is connected to the swivel pocket, said discharge pipe having fitted on its lower end, a detachable discharge nozzle, 12a, preferably made of elastic material, as rubber hose, the outer end of which is formed in correspondence with the throat of the fiange of the wheel to which the device is applied, in order to distribute the lubricant over a corresponding arca on the throat, as clearly shown in Fig. da. rllhe discharge devices are suspended, by their pivot bolts, lla, above the centers of the wheels, and in such relation thereto that the gravity of the dis charge pipe maintains the end of the discharge nozzle continuously in contact with the flange of the wheel. llVhile we have shown the discharge pipes as provided with detachable nozzles, this construction being the preferable one, in view of the facility of renewal when worn, it will be obvious that, if desired, the end of the discharge pipe may be formed in correspondence with the flange and be permitted to rest directly against the flange, or that a plurality of wires, 12b, may be fixed to the end of the discharge pipe, so as to serve as a brush or spreader to convey the oil to, and distribute it over, the flange, as shown in Fig. 4l".

lThe supply of' lubricant to the discharge devices is regulated as desired, by control valves of the needle type, one of which is shown on an enlarged scale in F ig. 5, and which, as an entirety, is indicated by the ref'- erence symbol, 13. The essential elements of the control valve are a casing, 13, adapted to be interposed between, and connected at its ends to, sections of a lubricant discharge pipe; a plug, 13b, fixed in said casing and having a tapering central bore, 13C, and lateral ports, 13d, leading thereinto; and a screw stem, 13B, engaging an internal thread in the plug and having a hand wheel, lSf, on its outer end, and a regulating valve, 13g, on its inner end, controlling the ports, 13d. rlhe valve may be secured in any adjusted position by a lock nut, 18h, engaging a thread on the valve stem, or a. set screw, 131, adapted to bear thereon.

In the application of our invention to locomotives using fuel other than oil, the oil for the lubrication of the flanges would be stored in a reservoir or reservoirs located in any convenient position on the running board or below the boiler, and be supplied, by gravity, to the discharge devices.

lt will be seen that the construction of the appliance above described is such as to involve comparatively slight expense of installation and maintenance, and that it is readily applicable to locomotives of any of the present standard types. rflic practical advantage of this construction, in which the discharge device is maintained in operative relation to the flange by gravity, instead of by the springs or adjusting clamps heretofore applied for this purpose, will be apparent to, and appreciated by, those connected with 'the mechanical departments of railroads.

We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. ln a wheel fiangelubricating appliance for railroad vehicles, the combination of a lubricant supply pipe adapted for connection at one end to a source of lubricant supply, a curved depending discharge pipe pivoted at its upper end to said supply pipe and receiving the lubricant therefrom and Awinging in a plane at an angle to the aXis of the wheel and in position for its lower end to be applied by gravity to the throat of a wheel flange, a discharge nozzle secured detachably to said opposite end, and means for effecting the discharge of lubricant from said opposite end, through said nozzle, over a substantially corresponding area on the throat of the wheel flange.

2. ln a wheel flange lubricating appliance for railroad vehicles, the combination of a lubricant supply pipe adapted for connection at one end to a source of lubricant supply, a curved depending discharge pipe pivoted at its upper end to said pipe and receiving the lubricant therefrom and swinging in a plane at an angle to the axis of the wheel and in position for its lower end to be applied by gravity to the throat of a wheel flange, a discharge nozzle of elastic material secured detachably to said opposite end, and means for effecting the discharge of lubricant from said opposite end, through said nozzle, o-ver a substantially corresponding area on the throat of the wheel flange.

3. In a wheel flange lubricating appliance for railroad vehicles, the combination of a lubricant supply pipe adapted for connectic-n at one end to a source of lubricant supply, and having a downwardly extending opposite end portion, a swivel pocket pivoted to said pipe adjacent to the bottom of said opposite end portion, and a U shaped discharge pipe secured to said sw'vel pocket.

el. ln a wheel Hangs lubricating appliance for railroad vehicles, the combination of a lubricant supply pipe adapted for connection at one end to a source of lubricant supply and having a downwardly extending opposite end portion, a swivel pocket pivoted to said pipe adjacent to the bottom of said opposite end portion, a U shaped discharge pipe secured to said swivel pocket, and a discharge nozzle secured detachably to said discharge pipe.

5. ln a wheel flange lubricating appliance for railroad vehicles, the combination of a lubricant supply pipe adapted for connection at one end to a-source of lubricant supply, and having a downwardly extending opposite end portion, a swivel pocket pivoted to said pipe adjacent to the bottom of said opposite end portion, a U shaped discharge pipe secured to said swivel pocket, a discharge nozzle secured detachably to said dis- Y charge pipe, and means for eifecting the discharge of lubricant, through said nozzle, over a substantially corresponding area on the throat of a wheel flange.

lVlLLlAl/l T. SMALL. CHARLES BESS. l.litnesses A. J. PrcnrHonN, D. W'. KrLBonN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C, 

